A FOX bounty will be more successful than the Victorian Government's FoxStop program writes PETER WALSH

The Victorian Liberals and Nationals believe the only good fox is a dead fox.

John Brumby and Labor's Agriculture Minister Joe Helper's failure to take the fox and wild dog problem seriously is costing Victorian farmers millions of dollars in lost production.

That's why, if elected in November, we will scrap Labor's failed FoxStop program and reintroduce a statewide fox and wild dog bounty that will pay $10 for every fox and $50 for every dog killed.

We have allocated $4 million over four years to the program which will operate year round and will be open to anyone who holds a shooter's licence.

A Coalition Government will also lobby the NSW and South Australian governments to encourage them to implement similar programs to improve cross-border control.

We recognise that the bounty is not the sole answer to controlling foxes and wild dogs, however, it is certainly a vital component and one which has been discarded by the Brumby Government.

In its efforts to win city votes, Labor has been happy to ignore the damage foxes and wild dogs are causing Victorian farmers.

The direct impact on Australia's sheep production alone is estimated to cost $17.7 million every year and foxes in some areas are known to take up to 30 per cent of lambs.

In the high country, wild dogs have been allowed to breed to such extraordinary numbers that farming has become unprofitable in some areas.

But instead of making a real effort to counter this damage, Labor introduced the FoxStop program, which does not include wild dogs, offers few real incentives and has been restricted to members of Field and Game Australia and the Sporting Shooters Association of Australia.

In one year just 6200 foxes have been killed under the government's program. By contrast, when the fox bounty ran in 2003, some 198,000 foxes were killed.

The Coalition aims to replicate the success of the 2003 bounty. At the end of the day, if the $4 million we have allocated to the program is exhausted, it will have proved an outstanding success.

Labor has tried to talk down our policy, but the fact remains that our commitment is $4 million more than Joe Helper or John Brumby are willing to spend.

  • Peter Walsh is Coalition agriculture spokesman.